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(Translated from the original German by John Sell)
Copyright ©1997 Fa. Rasche. All Rights Reserved. Not
to be copied, reproduced, nor stored in a retrieval sustem without written
permission.
This handbook is supplied with the Fa. Rasche family of Doppelkopf software products. It is intended especially for beginners who have not yet mastered the rules of the game. In the chapters that follow we will explain the rules with the help of examples and a detailed discussion of playing strategy. In some cases, we have omitted a discussion of those aspects of the game that are automatically handled by the computer. Our goal is to give you a solid foundation with which to use and enjoy our Doppelkopf programs to the utmost.
Not much is known about the exact history of Doppelkopf (Double Sheepshead) except that it was primarily played in the German-speaking areas of Europe. One supposes that it came from the game of Sheepshead. Doppelkopf was created when the card pack used for Sheepshead was doubled and the 7s and 8s omitted. One thing that is certain is that there are a variety of game variations, some more sensible, some less. The German Doppelkopf Association (Deutsche Doppelkopf-Verband) was founded in 1982 in an attempt to unify and standardize the game in the face of this multiplicity of options. More and more Doppelkopf clubs are affiliating with the national association. For this reason, the official rules form the basis for this software. We also include the most popular variations for your enjoyment.
Before we take up the specific details of Doppelkopf, we want discuss the basics of the game in order to give you an overview of what happens. Doppelkopf is played by exactly four players. The card pack consists of 48 cards and contains the suits, Diamonds, Hearts, Spades, and Clubs. Each suit consists of the cards 9. 10, J, Q, K, and Ace, each of which is doubled. Thus, for example, you could hold two Club Queens in your hand.
As in most card games, a hand begins with the shuffling of the cards. The dealer changes from hand to hand in a clockwise rotation. The cards are distributed to each player in four batches of three cards each. Thus, each player holds twelve cards at the beginning of the hand.
The individual players hold their cards hidden so that only they can see what cards are in their hand. After the players have examined their cards, the next step is the "bidding" process. This is not bidding in the normal sense, but is designed to determine whether a normal "partnership" game will be played or if someone wants to reserve the right to play an alternative game type such as a "solo" game. When one would select which option will be explained more fully below.
Beginning with the player to the left of the dealer, the players say either, "Reservation" or "Pass." Saying, "Reservation" gives one the option to play solo or to announce, "Marriage." If two or more players announce, "Reservation" which has preference is determined by a series of questions. The official Doppelkopf rules make a distinction between a "Required" solo and a voluntary one. As suggested by the name, "required," each player must play a solo hand within a specified number of games. Players who have not yet played this required solo, have preference when two or more both wish to play solo. Beyond that, additional questions are asked that determine the ranking and the soloist is determined.
The play of the cards always takes place in clockwise rotation and the first card is played by the player to the dealer's left. An exception to this is during a required solo. In this case, the soloist plays the first card.
(Plays First)
+-----------> Schmidt---------->+
| |
Miller(Dealer) Meyer
| |
+ <---------- Rasche <----------+
In the diagram above, suppose that Miller dealt the cards. Schmidt then lays the first card face up on the table followed by Meyer and Rasche. These four cards constitute a trick that is won by the player who played the highest card according to the rules. This person collects the four cards, places them face down next to him or her and then leads the first card to the next trick. This process continues until all twelve tricks have been played out at which point the hand is over.
What happens now? Each side puts their cards together and counts up their card points. The winning side is then determined after which the score is recorded by the computer on the score sheet. The next player then deals the cards of a new game in rotation. In the event that a required solo is played, the same person must sometimes deal twice (see below). The new game begins again with the "bidding."
We end our discussion of the basics at this point. As a beginner, you must still have many questions, but at this point our goal is simply to identify the phases and basic options of the game. The details follow in the next chapters.
No more needs to be said about the shuffling and dealing of the cards because all of this is handled by the computer. The proper dealer is also selected automatically as well. This section concernes itself with those aspects of the game that the computer cannot undertake. First of all you must learn the point values of the cards.
As mentioned previously, Doppelkopf is played with 48 cards grouped into the 4 suits, Diamonds, Hearts, Spades, and Clubs each containing 12 cards. The number of card points captured in tricks plays a decisive role in determining the hand's winner(s). The individual cards have point values as follows:
9 = 0 points King = 4 points 10 = 10 points Ace = 11 points Jack = 2 points Queen = 3 points
A more detailed description of these issues follows in a later chapter.
The order of the trump cards in a normal game is (from lowest to highest):
D9 DK D10 DA DJ HJ SJ CJ DQ HQ SQ CQ H10
Since a double pack is used, there are two of each card, 26 in all.
The non-trump (side) suits have the following order (from lowest to highest):
H9 HK HA S9 SK S10 SA C9 CK C10 CA
Since the pack is doubled, there are 6 cards in Hearts and 8 in Spades and Clubs.
In a normal game, each player has a partner and the two together make up a side or team. In special cases (solo games) one side consists of a single person and the remaining 3 players make up the other side.
Since Doppelkopf is a 4-person game, there are always two sides that play against each other. Simply put, the winning side is the one that captures the most card points in tricks.
What a trick is, how it is played out, and who wins it will not be discussed here in detail (see Chapter 6). Suffice it to say, that each player lays one card on the table. Once this is done, all four cards (the trick) are won by one of the players who collects them and puts them face down next to him or her.
After all 48 cards have been played out this way, each player counts the card points that he or she has captured. The players on each side add their card points together and this determines which side has won (See Chapter 7: Scoring). You might ask what the total number of card points is? It is exactly 240. This calculation will be explained now with the help of some examples. Suppose that you captured the following cards in tricks:
HA HA H10 HK SQ D9 DK CJ
How many card points would you have?
Correct. There are exactly 45 card points (11 + 11 + 10 + 4 + 3 + 0 + 4 + 2).
Consider a second example:
SQ SQ DK D10 S9 S9 SK SA
How many card points are there this time? Right! There are 35 (3 + 3 + 4 + 10 + 0 + 0 + 4 + 11).
After the shuffling and dealing, each player holds 12 cards. Playing correctly, the cards are held in such a way that no other player can see the cards that you hold.
Take your time and look carefully at your cards. When you first play Doppelkopf, you should hold your cards so that they are ordered by suit and according to their rank within a suit. The computer will take care of this automatically for you.
Typically, you play a Doppelkopf hand not alone, but with a partner. An exception to this is the Solo game in which you play by yourself against the other three players.
As we have already seen in Chapter 3, the goal of Doppelkopf is to capture the maximum number of card points. Normally, 121 card points is sufficient to win. There are also a few cases in which 120 card points is enough (See, "Call" Games).
This type of game is the one most commonly played. The trump cards have the following ranks:
D9 DK D10 DA DJ HJ SJ CJ DQ HQ SQ CQ H10
There are 26 Trumps altogether and 22 cards in the three non-trump "side" suits. A special role is played by the Club Queens. They determine which players are partners and which are opponents. The two players holding Club Queens make up the, so called, Re-Team. ["Re" is pronounced, "Ray"]. The other two players are the Contra Team.
From the name, you can figure that this game type has to do with seeking a "bride" or "groom" to form a "marriage." But what conditions must be met in order to announce such a happy event? It's very simple. One can announce a marriage when he or she holds both Club Queens in his or her hand. But be careful! If you hold both queens and forget to announce it, you are actually playing a secret Diamond Solo and your three opponents will know what's up as soon as you play the second Club Queen.
If you do announce a marriage, who is your partner? Your partner is the first of the other three players to win a trick. A trick must be won (and your partner determined) within the first three tricks, however. Otherwise, your "marriage" turns into a Diamond Solo and you must play alone against the other three.
The order of the trump and all of the other rules are the same as with a normal Call game. Unless someone announces a marriage or a solo game, a normal Call game is played.
The Doppelkopf rules distinguish between "voluntary" and "required" Solo games. According to the official tournament rules, each player must play a Solo game within the first 24 games that are played. In order to minimize the disadvantages, players who have not yet played their Solo game have preference in the event that two or more players want to play solo in a particular hand.
The Solo player plays the role of the Re-Team by him- or herself. To win, he or she must reach 121 card points alone. Solo games do not permit the special additional points that are possible in some of the other games. There are a number of Solo game types that distinguish themselves according to how the cards are ordered and which are trump.
Only the eight Queens are trump, i.e., the Heart 10 and the Jacks fall into their normal ordering within their respective suits. Diamonds now serve as a fourth side suit. In the side suits, the order of the cards is:
9 J K 10 A
This is like the previous case except that only the Jacks are trump. The card order of the side suits is:
9 Q K 10 A
The card order in this case is the same as in a normal game except that one can choose which suit (Clubs, Spades, Hearts, or Diamonds) will follow the Heart 10s, all of the Queens and all of the Jacks in the trump suit. If a Diamond Solo is played, the ordering is exactly the same as in the normal call game. Otherwise, Diamonds become a side suit and Clubs, Spades, or Hearts are elevated to trump status.
This is a "no-Trump" Solo. The card order in all four suits is:
9 J Q K 10 A
Some solos commonly played, but not officially allowed by the official rules are found in Appendix B. In order to play a solo game, the player must announce "Reservation" during the bidding.
After the cards are dealt, the bidding phase begins in which each player must announce whether they pass or want to reserve the right to play a non-standard game. Each player simply says, "Ready" or "Reservation." When several players say "Reservation" the following order of preference is used:
- Required Solo
- Voluntary Solo
- Marriage
In order to determine who has preference, each player will be asked, one after the other in clockwise rotation, whether they are playing a required solo. If all answer, "No," then they are asked in turn about a voluntary Solo, etc.
In the event that this process does not select one player over another, the rule is that the player who first says "Yes" has preference. As soon as this happens, the others are not asked further.
If a non-standard game is played, the player with the reservation must announce what kind of game (marriage or solo) will be played. If all four players say "Ready," then the player to the dealer's left leads the first card and a normal Call game is played.
One of the most important questions when playing Doppelkopf is with whom one is playing. That is, who is your partner? Of course, this is obvious in a solo game -- the soloist plays against the other three players who are partners. You will soon discover, however, that Solo games are not as common as you might imagine.
A "Call" game is the one most commonly played and, in this case, the partners are unknown at the beginning. As explained in the last chapter (see, "Call Games"), the Re-Team consists of the two players holding the Club Queens (an exception is when a "Marriage" is declared). Correspondingly, the non-holders of the Club Queens make up the Contra-Team.
One might suppose that it is advantageous to conceal the partnerships as long as possible, even as far as playing the Club Queens to the last trick. This strategy is usually not the most successful one, however. Normally it is better to clarify who is playing with whom sooner rather than later. You receive no points for secrecy, rather only for the card points that you capture in tricks. As a practical matter, you will soon discover how advantageous it is to know who is playing together. You can, for example, trump when appropriate, "smear" an insecure 10 to a trick won by your partner, bring a 10 or an Ace "home" yourself, or save a trick for your partner. In this regard, there are many possible strategies which we will explain more completely in the next chapter.
You could say, "What difference does it make, if I know who my partner is? I had great cards last time - 6 Queens, a Heart 10 and 5 Jacks. It made no difference who my partner was. My cards were destined for a great win, no matter what." Okay. But, be truthful with yourself. With such cards, you should really play a Solo by yourself rather than having a partner who you ignore. Besides, you get more points for a Solo than for a normal Call game.
Certainly there are thousands of reasons pro and con for any particular strategy. We won't take it up further here, but rather simply refer you to the comprehensive literature on Doppelkopf.
In a call game, there are actually two ways to discover who is playing with whom. The first is to announce with whom you are playing. The second is simply to play out the cards a particular way. Let's take first things first.
We'll come back to it again in Chapter 7 (Scoring), but we want to note here that the value of a game can be increased by announcements such as, "Contra," "Re," "No 90," "No 60", "No 30," and "Schwarz." In a game without any announcements, the offensive player(s) - the one(s) who must capture 121 card points to win - are called the Re-Team, pronounced as "Ray." The defensive players make up the Contra-Team. If both sides capture 120 points, then the Contra team wins.
The value of a game is increased when one announces, for example, "No 90," indicating that he/she thinks that the opposing side will capture fewer than 90 card points. But, beware! Giving up 90 or more points spells defeat for the announcing side, even if they do reach the 121 usually required for a win. Announcing "No 60" or "No 30" works exactly the same way as does the announcement of "Schwarz" which says that the opponents will fail to capture even a single trick.
What's the point of all of this in terms of scoring? We want to show you briefly that such announcements have consequences for the odds of winning as well as for the value of the game. Aside from the inflation of the value of the game, these announcements convey information legally about the strength of a player's hand and indicate who is playing with whom, i.e, the partners can identify each other -- on both sides!
Let's assume that you hold good cards and say, "Re." The other players then know that you belong to the Re-Team and hold a Club Queen in your hand. If you don't hold a club Queen, you would have to announce "Contra" instead. After you announce "Re," your partner can reveal him/herself by making a higher-level announcement such as, "No 90," but is not obligated to do so.
There is one limitation to this, however. Contra or Re may only be announced when one is holding 11 or more cards, i.e., before you play your card to the second trick.
Further announcements follow the schedule:
"No 90" with at least 10 cards in your hand. "No 60" with at least 9 cards in your hand. "No 30" with at least 8 cards in your hand. "Schwarz" with at least 7 cards in your hand.
Something else is very important to note: If you fail to make an announcement while still permitted to do so, no further announcements are allowed.
Example: After two tricks, you still hold 10 cards in your hand including the Club Queen which means that you belong to the Re Team. Looking at your cards and considering the ones that have been played so far, you conclude that your opponents will not reach 90 points. You would like to announce, "No 90," but this is no longer possible since your partner had not announced "Re" when still holding 11 or more cards.
These minimum-point announcements can sometimes be delayed, if someone plays a "Marriage" game. Please look at Appendix A for the exact text of the rules.
We want now to consider more closely what kind of cards one should hold in order sensibly to announce "Contra," "Re," "No 90," etc.. Of course, an underlying assumption of all of the announcements is that one will win the hand.
Re means: "I hold a Club Queen and expect, if the cards are distributed normally, to win at least 70 card points."
Contra means: "I do not hold the Club Queen, but expect with the normal distribution of cards, to win at least 80 card points."
By, "normal distribution of cards," we mean that you assume that "Lady luck" is neither with you nor against you. That is, you expect your short-suit Aces to go through and your long-suit ones to be trumped and under these conditions you expect to win the estimated number of card points.
Are you wondering why the Contra announcement assumes 10 points more than Re? Quite simply, it is because the player announcing Re already knows that his/her partner holds a high trump, namely the other Club Queen. This is not the case for the Contra side.
Please resist the notion that you can risk an announcement only when you hold terrific cards. This is because a game that you win without the additional announcement is exactly the same number of points foregone as the number of points lost when you make an announcement and lose the game. In both cases, it costs you two game points and, if your odds of winning are greater than chance (50%), in the long run it always pays to increase the value of the game.
If your partner has announced Contra or Re, how many card points must you expect to capture in order to announce, "No 90?" The answer is
about 80 card points for the Re-Team
about 70 card points for the Contra-Team.
Note:
Over time, regular Doppelkopf players have adopted the following strategy:
If you hold such good cards that you think the opponents will not reach
90 cards points, then make the Contra or Re announcement right away, before
the first trick is played. By not waiting until the last possible moment,
this announcement indicates not only to which side you belong, but also
that you are very strong in trump. Your partner can view this as incentive
to announce, "No 90." But note, if you follow this rule regularly
and make no announcement, you partner may take this to mean that your cards
are worse than they really are and operate accordingly.
5.2 Strategy for Playing Out the Cards
There are many strategies for playing a card when you don't yet know who your partner is.
5.2.1 The Case Where Your Partner Announces Contra or Re
Let's assume that your partner has just announced "Contra" or "Re," but your cards are not strong enough for you to respond with, "No 90." That is, you know with whom you are playing, but your partner is still "in the dark" that you are his/her partner. Of course, you could simply wink or give some kind of hand signal to indicate that the two of you are playing together, but this is bad sportsmanship and, besides, it is not permitted by the rules.
What legal alternatives do you have? There are several possibilities:
1. If you belong to the Re Team, you could simply play the Club Queen at the next opportunity so that your partner knows who you are.
2. Suppose that you find yourself playing the last card to a trick that currently belongs to your partner. If you have no more cards of the suit that was lead, simply "smear" a high-counting card (such as an Ace or 10) to the trick won by your partner. In this way, your partner will figure that the two of you are playing together. Otherwise, why would you have given away so many card points?
3. Your partner leads a high card, a Spade Ace, perhaps, and you have a choice of two Spades to play. It's best to select the one with the higher point value. Your partner will not know for sure that the two of you are playing together, but will suspect it, if you follow this pattern consistently.
5.2.2 The Case Where Your Opponent Announces Contra or Re.
This case is the exact opposite of the one described in section 5.2.1 above. There are the following possibilities:
1. If you belong to the Re Team, play the Club Queen at the next opportunity so that your partner knows who you are.
2. Suppose that you find yourself playing the last card to a trick that currently belongs to your opponents. If you have no more of the cards of the suit that was lead, you can trump or over-trump so that you capture the trick. This indicates that you oppose the player who would have otherwise won the trick and identifies you to your partner.
3. Your opponent leads a high card, a Spade Ace, perhaps, and you have a choice of two Spades to play. Select the one with the lower point value. No one will know for sure with whom you are playing, but it will become clear if you follow this pattern consistently.
5.2.3 No Announcement Has Been Made by Either Side
This is the most common case that you will encounter during the first couple of tricks. There are two possibilities. If you hold the Club Queen, play it as soon as possible to indicate the side on which you are playing. If you don't hold the Club Queen or, for some reason, don't want to play it early on in the game, the best option is to behave as if you are playing a Solo game and try to capture as many card points as possible.
In this chapter we take up how best to play your cards to a trick.
Let's assume that you are playing the first card to a trick. Which card is the right one to select? When someone else leads, there are certain rules that you must follow as part of the game (see section 6.2). When you lead, on the other hand, you can select any card in your hand.
6.1 Playing the First Card to a Trick
Assume that you are playing a normal "Call" game and hold all twelve cards in your hand.
Consider first the non-trump cards, more specifically, the side suits in which you hold at least one ace. You should first lead the Aces that are most likely to go though without being trumped. Suppose, for example, you have only one Spade in your hand and that is the Ace. This means that there are 7 other Spades divided among the other players. The probability of not being trumped is the highest at the beginning. It's also worth considering that, if the holder of the other Spade Ace leads it to a trick, you will be forced to follow suit with your Ace. According to the official rules, the first Ace played to the trick wins so that your Ace will be lost. Thus, the strategy would be to play out this Ace at the first opportunity.
As a general rule:
Figure the number of cards that your opponents hold (don't forget to count any cards already played) and lead from the suit which is most likely to go around without being trumped. In a normal "Call" game, there are 8 cards in the side suits of Spades and Clubs, but in Hearts, only 6, since the two Heart 10s are the highest trumps.
Suppose your hand contains only the two Spade Aces. It's theoretically possible that both Aces could go through without being trumped since the other players could have two Spades each. Such is not the case with the Hearts where there are only 6 cards outstanding. While each player could have one Heart card, when you play the second Ace, it would surely be trumped.
The rest depends on the strength of your trump holding. When you don't think that you can save any more Aces, it can make sense to lead a low trump thus giving someone else the lead. The hope is that you can trump one of their Aces when they lead from a suit you do not hold. As you can see, there are many things to consider.
There's no need to consider this theme further. You can learn a lot and more quickly simply by playing a few rounds with your Doppelkopf program. Give it a try!
6.2 Following, Trumping, or Throwing Off
When someone else leads a card, there are several rules that you must follow when playing a card.
You must follow suit, i.e., you must play a card of the suit that was led if possible. This goes for the side suits as well as trump. If you hold no cards of the suit lead, then you may play any card in your hand, trump or side suit.
Suppose you sit to the leader's left and hold only one card of the suit that was led. This is an easy decision.
If you hold two cards of the suit, then a choice must be made between the two of them. Consider several examples. You are playing a card to the first trick of a "Call" game:
1. The Spade 9 is led and you hold the Spade Ace and King.
=> The Ace is the best card to select, since there is no higher card in the suit (recall that the first Ace would win should a second one be played) and another player must use trump to take the trick away from you.
2. The Spade Ace is led and you hold the second Spade Ace and a King.
=> This is not as easy as the first case since you no longer can win with the highest card in the suit. If you know that this is your partner's Ace (because of a Contra or Re announcement, for example), then it makes sense to play the Ace rather than the King in order not to give away card points unnecessarily.
What should you do when you can't follow suit? You have the choice to throw off any card you wish or can choose to play trump. This can also be illustrated with the help of some examples:
1. The Spade Ace and 10 have been played so far to a trick. You hold no Spades.
=> You can see when the first card is played that the Ace will win the trick unless someone plays a trump card. The leader knows that it will take a trump card from someone to take the trick away. As long as you don't know whether the leader is your partner, you should play a trump in order the capture the card points in the trick. Since you have only one partner and two opponents, the odds are 67% that the Ace was lead by your opponent.
Which trump card should you select? That depends, of course, on whether the player playing last to the trick must follow suit or will be able to over trump your card. If these are the first Spades to be played, the odds are great that the he or she will have to follow suit. Select, then, a lower-ranked trump with a high card point value such as the Diamond Ace or 10.
This is, of course, a very simple case. Figuring what to play when several tricks have already been played is much more complicated. You must then consider which cards have already been played, who your partner is, etc.. The best way to get a feel for the best strategy is simply to play with the computer. You'll soon learn which card to play and when.
It also makes sense to think about where your partner is sitting relative to your position. As a general rule, it is wise to have your partner play last to the trick. In this way, he or she can choose the card to play that best fits the remaining cards that have been played so far to the trick.
The cards in a trick are played out clockwise. Once each player has played a card, they can determine who has won the trick. This person then leads the first card of the next trick.
The trick is won by the person playing the highest card of the suit that was lead or the highest trump card, if any are played. In the event that two of the highest-ranking cards are played to the same trick, it is won by the first that was played.
Let's consider some examples. Assume that a normal "Call" is being played and the left-hand card was the one that was led.
1. SA S9 S10 H9
This trick is won by the person who led the Spade Ace. The fourth player could not follow suit and chose to throw off the Heart 9 rather than to play a trump.
2. SA S9 S10 SA
The leader wins this trick as well. The fourth player has also played a Spade Ace, but the first card of equal rank has precedence.
3. SA DA S10 SA
In this case, the second player wins the trick. He or she was not able to follow suit and played a trump in order to win the trick.
4. SA DA S10 CJ
Here, player two plays the trump Ace in order to win the trick, but is over-trumped by player four with the Club Jack.
We concern ourselves here with what happens after all the cards have been played. The main issue here is the determination of who has won and who has lost. First, the card points captured by each side are added up. This is automatically handled by the computer.
From the previously chapters, you know already that the Re-team (those holding the Club Queens) in a normal "Call" game must capture 121 card points in order to win. For the Contra team, the requirement is only 120 card points.
The first issue is whether one of the teams has been played, "Under 90," "Under 60," "Under 30" or even "Schwarz" (all tricks). For each of these, the winning team scores one point.
Beyond that, various announcements count as follows:
"Re" announced 2 points extra "Contra" announced 2 points extra "No 90" announced 1 point extra "No 60" announced 1 point extra "No 30" announced 1 point extra "Schwarz" announced 1 point extra 120 points against "No 90" reached 1 point extra 90 points against "No 60" reached 1 point extra 60 points against "No 30" reached 1 point extra 30 points against "schwarz" reached 1 point extra
The lower scale shows scores for announcements made by opponents and not made.
Some extra points are also possible in a "Call" game as follows according to the settings that you have selected in the Settings Menu.
won against the Club Queens 1 point Doppelkopf *trick with 40 or more card points) 1 point Diamond Ace (Fox) captured from opponents 1 point Diamond Ace wins the last trick 1 point Club Jack (Charlie Miller) captured from opponents 1 point Club Jack wins the last trick 1 point 1 point
Note that these extra points can offset each other.
Suppose the Re-team has won and has scored an additional extra point as well, perhaps by capturing an opponent's Fox (Diamond Ace). If the losing, Contra Team, has scored two extra points, then these offset against those of the Re team resulting in -1 extra points.
In Solo Games there is no calculation of extra points.
Suppose the Re team announces "Re" and actually captures 130 points.
Scoring: won 1 point
"Re" announced 2 additional points
Diamond Ace captured from opponent 1 additional point
Opponents capture Diamond Ace -1 additional point
Opponents win last trick with Club Jack -1 additional point
Each member of the Re team scores 2 extra points (2 for the announcement of Re and 1 for capturing the opponent's Ace). Contra team members lose 2 extra points each.
More examples can be found in Appendix C.
Appendix A: Official Doppelkopf Rules
The most important sections of the Official Doppelkopf Rules are reproduced below. These form the basis for the functioning of this Doppelkopf program.
A. General
A.1
Doppelkopf is played by four players with a pack of 48 cards.
A.2 Card Ranks
A doubled card pack is used so that each card is in play twice. Clubs, Spades, and Hearts constitute the three equally-valued side suits and Diamonds are trump.
The rank of the cards from lowest to highest is:
a) in Trump:
D9 DK D10 DA DJ HJ SJ CJ DQ HQ SQ CQ H10
b) in Spades and Clubs:
S9 SK S10 SA C9 CK C10 CA
c) in Hearts:
H9 HK HA
A3. Preparation for Play
The player to the dealer's right cuts the cards after they have been well shuffled by the dealer. When cutting the cards at least three of them must be removed from the pack and at least three must remain.
After the cards have been cut, the dealer distributes them to the other players in batches of 4 (12 cards to each player) beginning with the player to the dealer's left.
A.4 The Play
A.4.1 The player sitting to the left of the dealer leads to the first trick (for an exception to this, see C.2).
A.4.2 Each player in turn plays one card face up in clockwise rotation.
A.4.3 One must follow suit, i.e., play a card of the suit that was lead if possible. This is also the case for Trump. The lead of a trump card calls for the play of a trump card. If a player cannot follow what was lead, any card may be played.
A.4.4 The person playing the highest card of the suit lead or the highest trump, if any were played, wins the trick and lays all four cards face down beside him or her. (This is also true for the cards that count extra points -- see F.3.). He or she then leads to the next trick. In determine which card wins the trick, the following rules apply:
a) A trump card beats any side suit card.
b) In a trick without a trump, the highest card of the suit lead wins.
c) If two cards of the same value are played to a trick, the one played
first wins.
d) Within a suit, the ranks are given in A.2 above.
A.4.5 As long as the fourth card has not yet been played to a trick, any player may ask to see the four cards of the previous trick.
A.5 Card Values & the Goal of the Game
Doppelkopf is a partnership game. The two players holding the Club Queens make up the Re-Team; the other two are the Contra-Team (Normal Games). In the event that one player holds both Club Queens, this is the special case of a "Marriage." (See C.4).
Each side attempts to capture more card points than the other. The cards have the following point values:
Ace = 11; 10 = 10; King = 4; Queen = 3; Jack = 2; 9 = 0
Thus, there are 240 card points altogether.
Note: At the beginning, it is not clear who plays with whom. Discovering this (or hiding it) is a major attraction of Doppelkopf. Thus, it is not permissible to take any action other than the play of the cards (or specific announcements) to indicate whether or not one holds the Club Queen.
A6 Scoring and Announcements (Contra & Re)
In games without any announcements, the Re-Team is the one that must make the game, i.e., capture 121 or more card points to win. If this count is not reached, the Contra-Team wins.
The value of a game (score) increases further when the losing side not only fails to make the required number of card points to win (121 for the Re-Team; 120 for the Contra-Team), but remains below certein threshholds: 90, 60, or even no tricks (schwarz).
In addition, one can increase the game value further by making certain announcements. Announcing, "Re" (holding the Club Queen) or "Contra" (without it) switches the offensive position to the announcing side which then requires 121 card points to win. If both are announced, then offensive and defensive positions are as in a normal game.
The announcement, "No 90" ("No 60", "No 30") asserts that the opposing side will capture fewer than the announced number of card points. "Schwarz" asserts that the opponents will capture not a single trick. If the opponents, in fact, pass the number of card points asserted, then the announcing side loses even if they have reached more than 120 card points themselves.
Furthermore, both sides can obtain additional score depending on their announcements (see, F.3).
A.7 Solos and Other Reservations
A player can attempt to play a game against the other three players, i.e., play a Solo game. In doing so, he or she takes over the role of the Re-Team alone and the remaining three players become the Contra-Team with all of the consequences in A.6. Special points cannot be earned in solo games, however.
Depending on the type of Solo played, the distribution and rank of the cards may differ from a normal game as follows:
(a) Queens Solo: Only the eight Queens are Trump, i.e., the Heart 10s and the Jacks return to their respective side suits. Diamonds become a fourth side suit. The rank of the cards in the side suits is:
9 J K 10 A
(b) Jacks Solo: Analogous to A.7 (a), only the eight Jacks are Trump. The ranks in the side suits are:
9 Q K 10 A
(c) Suit Solo: The cards rank as in a normal game except that the trump suit may be Diamonds or one of the others (Clubs, Spades, or Hearts). The two 10s, Queens, and Jacks remain the highest trump above the remaining cards of the trump suit. If a suit other than Diamonds is selected, then Diamonds become the third side suit.
(d) Vegetarian (Ace) Solo: This is a "No trump" solo. There are four side suits which rank:
9 J Q K 10 A
A player who wishes to play a Solo game, must announce, "Reservation" during the bidding process. This is also the case if one wishes to play a "Marriage" game (compare C).
Appendix B Tournament Doppelkopf
B.1 A tournament judge and jury will be appointed prior to play. The jury will be consulted when a player disagrees with the decision of the tournament judge. The decision of the tournament jury is final.
B.2 All games will be played at tables with four players.
B.3 A round consists of 24 hands and must be played out within 100 minutes (for exceptions see B.5). Once begun, a game must be played to completion. (A game is considered begun as soon as the dealer begins dealing the cards). Games outstanding after 100 minutes will be ignored.
B.4 Each player is obligated to play at least one Solo (Required Solo) during each round.
B.5 Required Solos will be played out even if the time limit for a round is reached.
B.6 Seat positions at a table will be determined by the Tournament Committee and announced before the play. Player 1 at each table will deal the cards first while player 4 keeps score. If agreed upon, another player may keep score, but this has no impact on the seat positions at the table.
C Reservations
C.1
After the cards are dealt, each player, beginning with the player sitting to the dealer's left, says either, "Reservation" or "Pass." Once said, this can be taken back only before the next player says "Reservation" or "Ready." If more than one player says, "Reservation," then they rank as follows:
- Required Solo
- Voluntary Solo
- Marriage
In order to determine which player has preference in this case, each player announcing "Reservation" will be asked whether he or she is playing a "Required Solo." If all answer, "No," then they are asked about a voluntary solo, and so forth.
In the case of Reservations of equal rank, the player sitting closest to the dealer (in clockwise rotation) has preference.
Once the highest ranking reservation is determined, it can be immediately announced and played.
C.2 Required Solos: Any solo (compare A.7) can be played as a Required Solo. The soloist plays the first card of the first trick.
Each player must undertake one "Required Solo" within the round. In the event that the number of unplayed Required Solos equals the number of games remaining in the round, then the player sitting to the dealer's left must undertake a solo. The deal continues to rotate in the normal manner, however.
C.3 Voluntary Solo Once a player has satisfied the requirement of playing one required solo, he or she may play additional "voluntary solos." Unlike the required solo case, however, the first card of the first trick is played by the player sitting on the dealer's left.
C.4 Marriage A player holding both Club Queens can announce a "Marriage." He or she then plays together as the Re-Team with whomever wins the first trick. If the announcer wins the first trick, the partner is the winner of the second trick, etc. The determination must be made within the first three tricks, however. Otherwise, the game is played as a Diamond solo with the announcer playing against the other three players.
If a player holding the two Club Queens fails (or doesn't choose) to announce the marriage, he or she automatically plays a "secret" Diamond Solo. Such is also the case, when a player initially says, "Pass," and then announces a "marriage" at the beginning of play. In this situation, however, the game counts neither as a Required nor as a Voluntary Solo. It simply counts as a regular game.
C.5 The cards can be dealt by the same person twice only after a required solo where the soloist's deal comes next in the normal rotation.
D Announcements
D.1 The announcement of "Re" (by a Soloist or holder of a Club Queen) or "Contra" (against the holder of the Club Queen or Soloist) can be made only by a player still holding at least 11 cards in his or her hand, i.e., before the end of the second trick of a hand.
In the same way, the following announcements require:
"No 90" with at least 10 cards in the hand "No 60" with at least 9 cards in the hand "No 30" with at least 8 cards in the hand "Schwarz" with at least 7 cards in the hand
A card is considered to be "in a player's hand," if it has not yet been played to a trick, i.e., placed face up on the table.
The words, "at least" should be understood to mean the latest point at which the announcement may be made unless the announcement is in response to that of another player as indicated in D.4 below.
It should also be noted that announcements may be made even when it is not yet a player's turn to play a card as long as the proper number of cards are held.
D.2 An exception to the limits established in D.1 is the case of a "Marrage" announcement when the partnership is not established until the second (third) trick. In this situation, the number of cards required to be held is reduced by one (two).
Note: Announcements can be made within one trick after the partnership has been established!
D.3 It is not possible to skip an announcement in the sequence even if the intervening announcement could still be legally made. Nor is it permitted to take back an announcement once it is made.
D.4 An announcement is permitted holding one fewer card than otherwise required, if it is made in response to a legal announcement made at the last possible time by the other side (e.g., "Re" in response to "Contra" when Contra was announced while holding 11 cards). [See D.2 for an exception to this.]
D.5 If "Contra" and "Re" have both been announced, a third player who announces, "No 90" ("No 60," etc.) must indicate to which team he or she belongs. It is permissible for both sides to announce "No 90" ("No 60," etc.).
D.6 If two players make announcements at the same time or one after another, they are both valid.
D.7 The repetition of identical announcements is not permitted. (See D.5.)
D.8 An announcement can first be made as soon as the game type is determined.
E Shortened Games
E.1 A game can be shortened only by the soloist in a Solo game.
A soloist who believes that he or she will capture all of the remaining tricks can lay his cards face up on the table. If the remaining tricks can be won only if played in a particular order, the soloist must indicate the order in which they must be played. In the event that the soloist does not, in fact, capture all of the remaining tricks, all of the tricks from the time of the announcement of a shortened game go to the defending team without penalty.
E.2 The soloist can also shorten a game by giving his remaining cards to the opposition. In this case the opponents win the remaining tricks. The soloist gives up any claims that he or she might have had the opponents not followed suit.
F Point Values
F.1 The winning side is the one that captures more than 120 (Re-Team)/119 (Contra-Team) card points or some other number of required points if an announcement had been made. If the required number of points is not reached, then the other side wins. In the event that neither side captures the points required by their announcements, then neither side wins and the scores indicated in F.2.(a) and F.2.(c) below are not counted.
F.2 The winning team scores the following point values; the losing side subtracts them from their score.
(a) won 1 point
played under 90 1 additional point
played under 60 1 additional point
played under 30 1 additional point
schwarz played 1 additional point
(b) "Re" announced 2 additional points
"Contra" announced 2 additional points
"No 90" announced 1 additional point
"No 60" announced 1 additional point
"No 30" announced 1 additional point
"schwarz" announced 1 additional point
(c) 120 card points won against "No 90" announced 1 additional point
90 card points won against "No 60" announced 1 additional point
60 card points won against "No 30" announced 1 additional point
30 card points won against "schwarz" announced 1 additional point.
F.3 Extra points can be scored by both sides in a normal game (there are no extra points in Solo games). They are calculated according to the following table:
won against the Club Queens 1 extra point Doppelkopf (40 card points or more in trick) 1 extra point Diamond Ace (Fox) captured from opponents 1 extra point Club Jack wins the last trick 1 extra point
F.4 Only the points in Tabe F.2 are scored in Solo games. These points are tripled and credited to the soloist's score in the event of a win, subtracted in the case of a loss. The opponents' scores are not tripled, but are simply recorded with the sign opposite that of the soloist.
Appendix B: Additional Rules
1. Additional Solo Games
In many locations, additional solo game types are played that are not permitted under the official rules. These are offered as options in our program.
1.1 Queen-Suit Solos
Only the eight Queens and the 10 Suit cards are trump, i.e., the Heart 10s and the Jacks return to their regular suits. The cards rank in the side suits as follows:
9 J K 10 A
In this Solo type, the Queens rank higher than the other cards of the trump suit. That is, any non Queen trump card can be captured by a Queen.
1.2 Jack-Suit Solos
Only the eight Jacks and the ten Suit cards are trump, i.e., the Heart 10s and the Queens return to their regular suits. The cards rank in the side suits as follows:
9 Q K 10 A
In this Solo type, the Jacks rank higher than the other cards of the trump suit. That is, any non Queen trump card can be captured by a Jack.
1.3 Jack-King Solos
Only the eight Jacks and the eight Kings are trump, i.e., the Heart 10s and the Queens return to their regular suits. Diamonds are the fourth side suit. The side suit ranks are:
9 Q 10 A
In this Solo type, the Jacks rank higher than the Kings. That is, any King can be captured by any Jack.
1.4 Queen-Jack Solos
Only the eight Queens and the eight Jacks are trump, i.e., the Heart 10s return to their regular suits. Diamonds are the fourth side suit. The side suit ranks are:
9 K 10 A
In this Solo type, the Queens rank higher than the Jacks. That is, any Jack can be captured by any Queen.
1.5 Jack-Queen Solos
Only the eight Jacks and the eight Queens are trump, i.e., the Heart 10s return to their regular suits. Diamonds are the fourth side suit. The side suit ranks are:
9 K 10 A
In this Solo type, the Jacks rank higher than the Queens. That is, any Queen can be captured by any Jack.
1.6 King Solo
Only the eight Kings are trump. The Heart 10s, the Queens, and Jacks return to their regular suits. Diamonds are the fourth side suit. The side suits rank:
9 J Q 10 A
1.7 Queens-Jacks-Kings Solos
Only the eight Queens, eight Jacks, and eight Kings are trump. The Heart 10s return to their side suit. Diamonds are the fourth side suit. The side suits rank:
9 10 A
The Queens rank higher than the Jacks which rank higher than the Kings. Thus, any Jack can be captured by any Queen and any King by any Jack.
2. Extra Points
Some players allow extra points to be scored for two additional events:
- "Fox wins the last trick." A player who wins the last trick with the Diamond Ace ("Fox") receives an extra game point.
- "Capture Club Jack." Whomever captures the Club Jack ("Charlie") of an opponent scores an extra game point.
3. Rule Alteration
In many places, the rules are changed as they pertain to the Heart 10s. According to the official rules, when two identical cards are played to the same trick, the one played first takes precedence. This change alters this rule in the case of the Heart 10s, so that the second one wins, if both are played to the same trick.
All of the above options can be enabled in the program as you choose.
In addition, you can activate or deactivate the Contra/Re announcements.
When evaluating the value of a game, scores should mirror each other when one follows the procedured outlined in F (Appendix A). Several complicated examples should help explain:
1. The Re-Team announces "Re", "no 90." The Contra team actually captures 90 to 119 card points.
Scoring: won 1 point
"Re" announced 2 additional points
"No 90" announced 1 additional point
won against the Club Queens 1 additional point
The Contra team scores 5 points (plus), the Re-team loses 5 points.
2. The Contra team announces, "Contra," "no 90." The Re-Team actually captures 120 - 150 card points.
Scoring: won 1 point
"Contra" announced 2 additional points
"No 90" announced 1 additional point
120 card points against "No 90" 1 additional point
The Re-Team scores 5 points (plus); the Contra team loses 5 points.
3. The Re-Team announces "Re" and "no 90." The Contra Team announces "Contra" and "no 90."
3a. One side reaches 90 to 119 points.
Scoring: Neither side has reached its goal. No extra points are scored, but the side that captured 121 to 150 points scores 1 game point for reaching 120 when "no 90" was predicted.
3b. The Re-Team reaches 151 to 180 card points.
Scoring: won 1 point
played under 90 1 additional point
"Re" announced 2 additional point
"Contra" announced 2 additional points
"No 90" announced by Re team 1 additional point
The Re-Team scores 9 game points (plus). The Contra team loses 9 points.
4. The Re-Team announces, "Re," "no 90," "no 60." The Contra team announces, "Contra," "no 90."
4a. The Contra Team captures 151 - 180 card points.
Scoring: won 1 point
played under 90 1 extra point
"Re" announced 2 extra points
"Contra" announced 2 extra points
"No 90" announced by Re Team 1 extra point
"No 90" announced by Contra Team 1 extra point
"No 60" announced by Re Team 1 extra point
120 card points captured against"No 90" announced 1 extra point
90 card points captured against "No 60" announced 1 extra point
won against the Club Queens 1 extra point
The Contra team scores 12 points (plus); the Re-team loses 12 points
4b. The Re-Team captures 90 - 119 card points. Neither side has made its contract. Thus, extras are not scored. The Contra team scores 2 points (plus) for winning and exceeding 90 and 60 card points against the announcement. The Re-team loses 2 points.
4c. The Re-Team captures 120 card points. Evaluation: Neither side has made its contract. Thus, no extra points are scored. The Contra Team scores 1 point (plus) for reaching 90 card points against the announcement, "No 60." The Re-team loses 1 point. The points for 120 card points against the announcement of "no 90" offset.
4d. The Re-Team captures 121 - 150 card points. Evaluation: Neither side has made its contract. Thus, no extra points are scored. Neither side scores. The points for 120 card points against "no 90" for the Re-Team and 90 card points against "no 60" for the Contra Team offset.
4e. The Re-Team captures 151 - 180 card points. Evaluation: Neither side has made its contract. The Re-Team has held the Contra side "under 90" and has itself reached 120 against the announcement of, "no 90" from the Contra team. Thus, the Re-team scores 2 points (plus); the Contra team loses 2 points.
4f. The Re-Team captures 181 - 210 card points.
Scoring: won 1 point
played under 90 1 extra point
played under 60 1 extra point
"Re" announced 2 extra points
"Contra" announced 2 extra points
"No 90" announced by Re Team 1 extra point
"No 90" announced by Contra Team 1 extra point
"No 60" announced by Re Team 1 extra point
120 card points captured against"No 90" by Contra 1 extra point
The Re-Team scores 11 points (plus); the Contra team loses 11 points.
5. In a solo game, the Soloist announces "Re" and "No 90." The opponents capture 90 - 119 card points.
Scoring: won 1 point
"Re" announced 2 extra points
"No 90" announced 1 extra point
The three opponents score 4 points each (plus); the Soloist loses 12 points.
6. In a solo game, the opponents announce "Contra" and "No 90." The Soloist announces "Re" and captures 181 - 210 card points.
Scoring: won 1 point
played under 90 1 extra point
played under 60 1 extra point
"Re" announced 2 extra points
"Contra" announced 2 extra points
"No 90" announced 1 extra point
120 card points won aganst "No 90" 1 extra point
The Soloist scores 27 points (plus); the opponents lose 9 points each.
Copyright ©1997 Fa. Rasche. All Rights Reserved
Translation from original German by John
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